Learn English Language through Guardians of the Galaxy

Why do people in space movies always know so many strange things about Western culture!? Oh my god. Seriously, this movie had so many random references when there were jokes that it made me forget that the characters were all from space. I think I will try to do some more serious action/drama movies because the vocabulary used is a lot less complex and easier for ESL learners to understand.

Nevertheless, this movie was extremely popular around the world when it released, and it is always so much fun to watch.

I hope that you can get a chance to watch the movie after you study up on these vocabulary and expressions!

As always:

These videos are being made for two types of English language learners:

1. Those who have studied textbook English hard, but are having trouble understanding cultural references and nuanced English
2. Those who are tired of studying the same way every day, but still want to boost their vocabulary and English language ability through daily practice.

Here are the vocabulary and expressions for those of you who want to quiz yourself later!

Vocabulary and Expressions for Guardians of the Galaxy 1

Vocabulary/Expressions

Definitions

They killed a little frog that ain’t done nothin.’ Smushed it with a stick.

Ain’t done nothin’ = Southern Texan accent for “didn’t do anything.”

Smushed = crushed/squashed.

You don’t look like a junker, you’re wearing ravager garb.

Junker = someone who looks through garbage to find valuable things to sell.

Ravager = a kind of pirate in the Guardians of the Galaxy Universe.

Garb = clothes.

Ninja Turtle you better stop poking me.

Ninja Turtle = super-hero cartoon about human-sized turtles who fight crime. He is joking that the soldier looks like a Ninja Turtle.

Dude, chill out!

Dude = a nick-name to call a (usually) male friend.

Chill out = relax, take a break, calm down.

I was in the neighborhood, I thought I’d save you the hassle.

In the neighborhood = near someone or something. He was in the neighborhood of the orb.

Hassle = trouble, unnecessary extra work.

We’re ravagers, we got a code.

Code = a way to live by, a set of rules that you follow in your life.

You have always been soft on him.

You’re the only one I’m being softon.

To be soft on someone = to be gentle and kind to someone, particularly compared to the way you are with other people.

They call me terrorist, radical, zealot.

Radical/zealot = someone who does extreme actions for political/religious or personal reasons.

Xandarians, what a bunch of losers.

Loser = someone who is not cool, not popular, fool.

Walk by yourself you little gargoyle.

Gargoyle = a scary and ugly statue of a human or animal, sometimes with wings, often placed on the corners of the roofs of old buildings to let water flow off.

What a class A pervert.

Prevert = misspelling of “pervert” which means someone who always thinks about sexual things and has a very dirty mind.

My culture, is wiped from existence.

To be wiped from existence = to be erased/destroyed, like one never existed at all.

You have the bearing of a man of honor.

To have the bearing of something = to look like/to have the physical features of.

It’ll grow back you daft idiot, quit whining.

Daft = British word for stupid/fool/idiot.

Whine = to complain/show you dislike something while being annoying (usually with a high pitched voice).

Relax, pal. It’s cool to have a code name. It’s not that weird.

Pal = friend, buddy

Code name = a special name that you are called by. Usually in the military it is common to have a code name so that people don’t need to use your real name.

Prick.

Prick = another word for the male genitalia. This has the same meaning as “dick.”

None of this would have happened if you hadn’t tried to take on a frickin army.

To take on = to fight with, to challenge someone.

Frickin = a softer version of f**kin.

This is what we get for acting altruistically.

Altruistic = to do something for the good of others without thinking about yourself, selfless.

To give a shit.

To give a shit/damn/f**k = to care, to pay attention to, to take responsibility for something/someone.

A bunch of jackasses standing in a circle.

Jackass = idiot, moron, stupid. The original meaning of this word is donkey, but it is not used much for that these days.

You cross me, we kill you all.

To cross someone = to betray them.

He said he’s an a-hole, but he’s not 100 percent a dick.

A-hole = short for ass-hole. This means a not nice, mean and awful person.

Dick = another word for the male genitalia. This has a similar meaning with a-hole and means someone who is mean or not nice.

But you’ve got some business to attend to before the nooky nooky starts.

Nooky nooky = having sex, making out (kissing and hugging with someone romantically).

Report Card Summary:

Genuine Language Usage: It’s really hard to say that the vocabulary in this movie is genuine. Each character had their own “dialect” which were actually just different dialects of English. If we ignore the fact that it is strange that Aliens from space are all speaking different dialects of English, the language usage could be considered “kind of genuine,” but not much.

Educational Value: This movie made a lot of references to popular Western culture… almost too many references. That being said, a lot of the references are common knowledge to most Western people like the “Giving Tree” and “Ranger Rick.” So, if your goal is to gain a deeper understanding of Western culture so that you can appreciate more of its humour and expressions, this movie is quite valuable.

Fun Factor: I’ve seen this movie quite a few times now due to its popularity, and I have to say, no matter how many times I see this movie I still really enjoy this movie. The sound-track is absolutely amazing… not only the movie’s use of classic rock music, but also the music that set the atmosphere and mood. There are times like at the end of the movie where the music and great presentation make me feel so moved! I would definitely recommend everyone to see this movie!

-Adam

If you have any questions or comments about the vocabulary please leave a comment and please don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel!

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